Death of unidentified man whose naked body washed up on Cornwall beach is ‘suspicious’

A walking shoe worn by an unidentified man whose body was found at high tide on Tuesday (Picture: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA)

The death of a man whose naked body was washed ashore on the north Cornwall coast is being treated as suspicious, police have said.

The white male, described as being between the age of 50 and 70, was believed to have been in the water less than 24 hours when he was discovered on Perranporth beach earlier this week wearing socks and one shoe.

Devon and Cornwall Police say that multiple injuries sustained to the body were inconsistent with drowning and not easily explained.

A member of the public came across the unidentified man at 2pm on Tuesday February 25, and a post-mortem was conducted three days later.

This photo was found in a jacket near the dead man (Picture: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA)

It is not known whether a set of keys – including for a Citroen car – found on the man belonged to him.

A number of pictures taken of the items found near the body have been released by officers in the hope that they will lead to his identification.

One includes a photograph of a small boy which was found in a black wallet in the pocket of a dark navy-blue Regatta jacket nearby. The date on the back of the photograph is April 13, 1952.

DCI Dave Thorne said: ‘Perranporth is a small community which attracts a variety of people and we are hoping someone will have seen something that could unlock this mystery.’

Anyone with information is being urged to call police on 101, quoting log 381 of March 1, 2014.